"I can save us both," he said frantically. "A hundred feet inside and the smoke won't kill us."

She stopped him. "I can't move. It hurts too much."

He wept. "But I can't leave you! Jessa! You've got to try!"

She shook her head sadly. "No, I'll stay here. I have to stay here. Everything will be OK."

He understood that she couldn't move if she wanted to. Since he wouldn't leave her, there was nothing more to discuss. Smoke filled the tunnel like fog descending. Mark stretched out and lay down beside her. The flames could not touch them, but the superheated air would kill them just the same. Every inhalation was thick with gas. But through it all Jessa shivered and never lost her peaceful smile. It was one more mystery that he would never understand about her.

"This was meant to happen," she said.

It was the last words he heard.

The fire came near. The Magic Fire.